Chrome beta vs. Internet Explorer 9 is about more than speed

The beta of Chrome and second platform Preview of Internet Explorer 9 both show big speed improvements. But the race doesn't always go to the fastest. The new generation of browser wars will be about far more than speed.

There's no doubt that the two recent browser releases are speedy. Computerworld tests show that the Chrome beta renders Javascript 17% faster than the current "stable" Chrome release, and beats out Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer 8, and only loses by a hair to Opera.

The second platform preview of Internet Explorer 9 is also juiced up. Microsoft tests show it to be far faster than Internet Explorer 8 in rendering Javascript, and ahead of Firefox 3.6, and 3.7. It's still slower than Safari, Chrome (both beat and current) and Opera, but it has closed the gap considerably.

That's all very nice. But in the long run, it's not that important. Frequently, delays in Web browsing aren't caused by the browser, but by sites not able to deliver content quickly enough. And as for the speed differences, with the gap closing between the speed of all browsers, does a few milliseconds really matter? Not really.

Far more important than speed will be whether browser makers can get developers to build Web sites that will take advantage of the specific capabilities of each browser. Even if all browsers adhere to HTML 5 --- and all ultimately will --- some browsers will have features that can be uniquely tapped.

The Chrome beta, for example, includes geolocation baked in. This means that if you give permission, a Web site can know your location, by examining wireless network and mobile phone information, and using your IP address. A whole new set of Web applications are just beginning to emerge to take advantage of this. This is far more important than speed improvements.

The just-released second Internet Explorer 9 platform preview, like the previous one, uses the graphics processor to speed rendering and HTML 5 graphics. The point is not simple speed; it's that by using the graphics processor, Web-based applications can be as fast and as interactive as those on your PC. That means entirely new interfaces and services can be designed. To get a sense of what I'm talking about, install the latest test drive and head over to the demo of using the Flickr photo service using it. It's spectacular.

This means that ultimately, the winner of the browser wars won't be whoever makes the fastest browser --- it will be whoever convinces enough developers to write applications that take advantage of the unique capabilities of their browser. So expect Microsoft and Google to try to convince developers to create sites that show of their browsers to the best effect. Expect money to change hands...potentially lots of it.

Where does that leave Firefox? Possibly in trouble. Its ecosystem of add-ins is far larger and superior to both Chrome and Internet Explorer, but ultimately add-ins won't be enough. New services are what will be important Given the deep pockets of Google and Microsoft and their market presence, it's not clear that Firefox will eventually be able to keep up to convince Web sites to play along.